The interactions between antimicrobial materials and bacterial membranes

Microbial contamination of surfaces in everyday use is an on-going challenge to prevent and eradicate. Furthermore, rapidly growing resistance of microorganisms to many drugs and disinfectants also poses a significant challenge in the design of more effective materials for managing such critical areas as food safety, aged care and agricultural, veterinary and clinical settings in general. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are the primary line of defence of the innate immune system against invading microorganisms and act by binding to and disrupting the outer membranes of microbial cells. Antimicrobial biomaterials also have the potential to transform the current management of microbial contamination. Various polymer-based antimicrobial materials have been developed and many of these are designed to mimic the cationic properties of AMPs or with AMPs grafted onto a polymer template. These antibacterial materials therefore act by membrane disruption. This review provides an overview of the field of antimicrobial materials with a focus on the impact of these materials on bacterial membrane, and aim to provide a timely overview of the molecular mechanism of action of these materials.